You can ship just about anything through the mail, even live animals. But FOX16 News talked with one postal worker who says he's tired of seeing baby birds die before they're ever delivered.
There's nothing cuter than the sight and sound of new born chicks. But Richard Woodall says what he's seeing is more of a nightmare. "You see this every morning and it ruins the rest of your day, it does mine," Woodall says.
This postal worker says at least half of these quail ducklings died before making it to their destination in south Arkansas. He thinks because they're getting over-heated during shipment.
"It's easily 130 degrees if not more, and four or five hours in the back (of the truck), and this is basically what we get every morning," Woodall says.
It's not the first time. He's saved a clipboard full of shipping slips from just the past year where baby birds are dead on arrival at the McCain location in North Little Rock.
FOX16 News talked with the Iowa hatchery on the quail shipment, it told us heat for the baby birds shouldn't be an issue. The chicks are born at 100F degrees and instances of birds dying through the mail are extremely rare.
USPS has strict guidelines for mailing "day-old" poultry, including using Express Mail which keeps birds off trucks except during the final delivery leg and makes sure they arrive within 72 hours of shipping. No one is sure why these chicks didn't make it.
"I'm hoping this will do it and get someone to pay attention," Woodall says.
Woodall just wants to see happy, live baby birds more often.
